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Wazifa in Islam

Does "Wazifa" belong to Islam or is it simply numerology?

By MidnightMoon, IslamicAnswers.com Editor

1: What Does ‘Wazifa’ Mean?

The translation of the Arabic word ‘wazifa’ into English means “to employ”. However, the term wazifa is more commonly used to refer to the practice of reciting some verses or phrases to seek a specific favour or reward. In Sufism, the term refers to the evocation of qualities of Allah by reciting or meditating on some or all of the 99 Names of Allah.

2: What is the Difference Between Wazifa and Du’a?

When we make du’a, we can either use our own words, or use verses or phrases that have been recommended to us and practised by The Prophet (peace be upon him), which are included in the established Sunnah. Information about du’a can be found in our many articles on Dua', such as Dua' in Islam.

But in wazifa, even though the words or phrases may be taken from Islamic texts (including from the Quran), the way in which they are being used does not have a basis in the Sunnah. The thinking behind wazifa is that saying something a particular number of times for a particular number of days will somehow grant us a specific reward or favour.

3: What are the Problems with Wazifa? Why is it Not Recommended?

There are several reasons why we should not use wazifa and should instead make du’a. These include:

1) Allah is not a vending machine! As Muslims, we recognise and accept that Allah is All-Knowing and All-Powerful, and that He alone knows what will be best for us in this life and the next. The idea that we can dictate or change Qadar through rituals that have no basis in Islamic teachings, is contrary to this and so we need to reject this idea.

2) Wazifa is either self-prescribed or prescribed by a self-proclaimed ‘expert’, and does not have its basis in the established Sunnah – it is bid’ah (an innovation). We are told by The Prophet (peace be upon him) to avoid innovating matters of our deen:

“He who innovates something in this matter of ours [Islam] that is not of it will have it rejected [by Allah].” {Bukhari, Muslim}

And he said:

“Verily, he among you who lives long will see great controversy, so you must keep to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the Khulafaa’ ar-Rashideen, those who guide to the right way. Cling to it stubbornly. Beware of newly invented matters [in the religion], for verily every bid’ah is misguidance.”{Abu Dawood, Tirmidi}

And he said:

“On the Day of Judgement, some people will come to me when I will be standing by Haudh-e-Kauser. They will be grabbed and taken towards the Hellfire. I shall say: “These are my people”, but in reply I will be told: “These are the people who introduced innovations after you, so they are unbelievers”.”{Bukhari, Muslim}

3) Often, the people or websites claiming to have wazifas available for various situations, will also state that certain other conditions must be fulfilled in order for the wazifa to work. Examples of conditions might include:-

charging money for the wazifa.

requiring the person doing the wazifa to send requests for rewards to be given to a particular person (eg. the person providing the wazifa) in order for the wazifa to be “valid” or accepted.

insisting that the wazifa must or should be done at a particular site, such as at the grave of a particular person.

claiming that any wazifa will need to be “approved” by another person (eg. the person providing the wazifa) before it can be received by Allah.

Islam teaches that we should pray to Allah directly, and not ascribe partners to Him. At best, some of these conditions may take advantage of people in need. At worst, they may approach shirk and go against the principles of Islam.

4: What Should We Do?

We should avoid wazifas and other practices that aren’t based in Islamic teachings. Instead, we should try to follow the examples set for us by the Prophets and Messengers of Allah (peace be upon them all) and the guidance laid out in the Quran and Sunnah:

1) Hasten to do good deeds and to follow Islam.

‘Do no mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, but call on Him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the Mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good.’ - {Surah Al-Araf. 7:56}

2) Have humility and taqwaa.

‘Call upon your Lord with humility and in private: for Allah loves not those who trespass beyond bounds.’- {Surah Al-Araf. 7:55}

3) Pray to Allah directly.

‘Call then, upon Allah with sincere devotion to Him, even though the unbelievers may detest it.’ - {Surah Ghafir. 40:14}

‘And your Lord says: “Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell – in humiliation.’ - {Surah Ghafir. 40:60}

4) Place your trust in Allah, that He will guide you to what is best for you, in this life and the next.

“The invocation of anyone of you is granted [by Allah] as long as he does not show impatience by saying ‘I have invoked Allah but my request has not been answered’.” - {Bukhari, Muslim}

“Any Muslim who supplicates to Allah in a Du’a which contains no sin breaking of kinship, Allah will give him one of three things: either his Du’a will be immediately answered or it will be saved for him in the hereafter, or it will turn away an equivalent amount of evil.” -{Tirmidi, Ahmadi}

So i just have a quick question, what about the hadith that la hawla wala quwwata illa billaah cures ninety-nine diseases the least of which is anxiety, would that be the same as a wafiza if recited mulitple times since it's a hadith? and then there is that one dua for difficulties of prophet Yunus when he was in the belly of the whale.

mea, there is no doubt that dhikr brings great reward, and that our dua' is heard and answered by Allah. Both practices are highly recommended. A Muslim should always be praising Allah and asking Him for his needs in the dunya and aakhirah. The difference between this and wazifa is that we cannot make up formulas and say, "If you say such-and-such this many times, your cancer will disappear," or whatever.

No doubt
Just following the ways and teachings of prophet Mohammad sallallahu alaihi wassallam is the best thing to be done on earth for people in islam
And this is the only thing that will make muslims worthy of being called Muslims

Salam I dont about the first hadith but the the one about prophet yunus one is that yes he recited that dua over and over again.but there is no number to it.how can he possibly remember how many times he recited a dua. So he was making dua not reading a wazifa.that dua ha's turned into a wazifa.we are allowe'd to make dua using any an innovation.we can use any verses from the quran or our own words in the dua. Hope that makes sense.may Allah correct me if I'm wrong.

Wazifas are fine.There is thing in Islam that can't be taught for the common folk.It is higher knowledge of insight.Something Allah gives a person.Yes there are some Wazifas that are not recommended. Thats why the sunni scholor who follows a school of thought will have the correct knowledge. ...Most people follow blindly and listen to people whose speech sounds impressive but they breed extremism and violence

I want to know that for rizq i do read one ayat of surah maida daily 11 times after fajr and Isha and i do read "Biyadikal kher innaka ala kulli shai in qadeer" 41 times daily after Fajr and Isha, is it a kind of wazifa or dua? kindly reply.
Thanks

But if someone doing a wazifa according to sufism and completed without harm and wazifa fulfilled there wishes or desires.Allah's help also with the sufi method
Allah subhanu wataala fulfilled there wishes.
then what is the issue with wazifa...?

We should approach Allah in the manner that He and His Prophet (Muhammmad sal-Allahu alayhi wa sallam) have taught. The Quran and the Sunnah teach us to approach and ask Allah by means of Salat and Dua'. We should therefore follow the teachings given to us, and use only authentic dua' from the Quran and Sunnah.

Recite darood shareef abundantly... as it is a best thing to be done...
It creates a 2way connection between you and God...
You recites once and in turn Allah takes you in his Rehmat...
Go read hadith regarding darood shareef you will yourself find what I want to say...
Offer 2 rakat salah and tell your problems to Allah directly...
Because Allah is the one who Has power over All
....

aayshah on November 25, 2014 at 5:43 am
Recite darood shareef abundantly… as it is a best thing to be done…
It creates a 2way connection between you and God…
You recites once and in turn Allah takes you in his Rehmat…

is this okay??
i was to start reciting the darood shareef 80time a day.
can i do it by making a wish and allah for that after its recitation??
vil t becom a wazifa
plz reply

Recite " la haula wa la quwwata illa billa hil alae il azeem " . Recite it as much as you can .
i personally heard a man saying that his friend was over burdened dye to some problem . He did all he could do but couldn't find the solution. He , then went to a mosque where imam told him to recite is as much as is possible. The man said that it is such an easy thing to do . Willl it really help me?. Imam replied that yes " it will ease you from what so ever burden you are having in your life" . He recited and amazingly got relieved from whatsoever problem he was having.
it all depends on your faith.
i am also reciting it for love marriage. I am too disturbed and stressed but i feel that it is going to help me .

Asalaamu alaykum I would like to ask a question regarding witchcraft I have been employed within a company and worked with a lot of people of different religions gradually since I started working I have started to cover myself and now it's a daily thing I have been wanting to leave the current job where I'm working since last year June I started applying.I would get called for interviews would go then would get no reply whatsoever so I went to see a that could tell me what could be wrong he's muslim well respected and born with a gift to assist people having problems with witchcraft etc he told me that someone put a block on me from getting another job even about my boss and said it's better to get another job as it seems like the situation won't get better at work then I remembered that ones my ex manager wore my sandals and jersey and took it home with her and never wanted to talk about it even my bosses when they would work visits the way they treated me was asif they saw an animal and did'nt care doing it in front of my staff to degrade me I then decided to push and continue job hunting but nothing is coming right even now I have discoverd that my boss is trying to trap me so I can be dismissed wanted staff who was caught stealing to say I was stealing with them but alhamdullilah they refused I am the only muslim in our region and do isolate myself from parties etc as there's alcohol etc.I would have resigned long ago but due to debts and that I'm tryin to stay right now I'm being investigated for a loss that occurred and will be going to a hearing for this even if I'm innocent I have made the guidance prayer in deciding if I should resign rather and work a month notice whilst still continueing looking for another job but had no decision the following day after doing the prayer previous night but I can see if I can continue working I will be dismissed please help with what I should do.

My husband wants to divorce me he doesnt wants me at all he spoke to my aunty
all though its not my fault putting wrong allegations and making everyone believe that she spoke
to me very harsh sentence but i dint i swear on allah i dint he lieng to everyone.i dont want divorce he is not ready to listen i dont want her he is saying i want to change his mind tell me some wazifa any strong dua so he change his mind towards me n dont file the divorce.......help me please i love him a lot i dint said any harsh sentence to him still i said so sorry so many times but he doesnt wants to listen at all......

I've read the article and understand why it's not allowed. But I have a problem telling which practice is harmless and which is wazifa. For example: it is well-known that it's good to pray the hajaat & tahajood before the fajr prayer. And generally there are certain dzikr and/or dua to be followed after those sunnah prayers. Do those dzikr/duas count as wazifa? Also, I've learned that each 99 names of Allah SWT has its own benefits if recited for a certain number at certain times. Is it wazifa? Cause the way I see it, it's dzikr with Allah's names different number of times, and whatever result or benefit coming from it could only be hoped for. Am I right? I wish there is a clear guideline separating the harmless practice and wazifa. Thanks!

A good way of looking at it is to think "does this action have its basis in the Quran or ahadith?". Dua and dhikr have their basis in this, and we have clear guidance regarding it - it might help to read the sections of this website under the heading 'Dua in Islam' (the articles there might be helpful, inshaAllah).

If something does not seem to have its basis in established Sunnah, then it's best to investigate it further to be sure that it is permissible, rather than risking doing something that is unacceptable or inappropriate. For example, you could discuss such questions with scholars or respected members of your local Islamic community, or research the issue yourself (taking care to use reliable sources), or ask reputable online sites for advice.

I got married receintly everything was allright but suddenly i saw a lot of changes in my husnand... He dont want to talk to me don love me anymore. He only listen to his family.. Insults me in front of evryone . He wants divorce now from me ... But i dont want to give him divorce as i love him. Can u please help me out is there any way through which his heart will melt and he will change his mind... And will start loving me ....

Naziya, you have given us very little information. Please register and submit your question as a separate post, and describe if you can why your husband changed and why he wants a divorce. Your question will be published in turn Insha'Allah.

Wazifa DOES have Islamic basis. See Abdul Raheem's brief explanation for this.

Question:

Curing through certain Wazeefah’s of our Mashaaikh and Through Allah’s Names (s.w.t).

The Wazeefah mentioned on Tafseer Raheemi:

Does not have any references to any hadeeth. I do not doubt the effort in the deliverance of this message but I have heard that Surah al-Fatiha is the cure to all illnesses and have heard this referenced with hadeeth’s.

Answer:

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.

Allah (s.w.t) says in the Qur’an:

وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا

“Allah has the Most Beautiful of Names so call unto Him with them” (7:180)

The Wazeefah mentioned has the names of Allah – The Shariat is not strict with the method of Dua, therefore any amount would suffice.

The amount mentioned was an experience of the Mashaaikh – e.g. Paracetamol relieves headache is known through experience, you don’t need Hadeeth for that.

However, no doubt what you have mentioned is correct and Surah Fatiha is more effective – But it cannot be read be non-Muslims.

No, "wazeefa" does not have any Islamic basis. The "experience of mashaaikh" is not sufficient to justify an innovation in religion.

The Messenger of Allah (sws) said, "Every innovation is a misguidance and every misguidance goes to Hell fire." (Saheeh Muslim). The scholars have always understood this to mean innovations in religion. The invention of Paracetamol is a scientific and medical innovation and is good. But to claim that new aspects of religion can be discovered through experimentation and experience is ridiculous.

"Today I have completed for you your religion." - Quran 5:3

Islam is already complete. All we need is what the Quran brought and the Messenger of Allah (sws) taught. We do not need any misguided mashaayikh to sit around inventing new "wazeefas".

As for Allah's saying that, “Allah has the Most Beautiful of Names so call unto Him with them,” yes of course this is true. We are told in Islam to call upon Allah, make dhikr, make istighfar, etc.

However, to claim that reciting Allah's name a specific number of times will have some miraculous effect is completely bidah. For example, if one claims that reciting "Ya Azeez" 1,000 times every day for 10 days will cure stomach cancer - this is a lie that he has made up against Allah, for Allah did not say anything of this kind in the Quran.

Please help me I'm in study depression I don't like to study and go to school please give me any wazifa to learn and remember what I read please help me .. And also for to go to school and learn happily

What you need is to develop good study habits, and to figure out why you don't like to study. Maybe you would prefer to study a different subject? But yes, I think you probably just need to learn to take good notes, study early every day when you're not tired, study with a partner, etc.

Asalamualaykum.. i have a doubt .. actually im reciting ALLAH HU RABBI LA SHARIKA LA HU 874 times in a state of wuzu on a praying mat.. and making a dua .. so i need to kno is it rite what im doing.. plss do reply

Sabir, wa alaykum as-salam. The dhikr you are saying is very good. It means, "Allah is my Lord, He has no partner." However, there is no basis for saying it exactly 874 times. That is a bid'ah. You can say it any number of times, whether 10, 33, 100 or whatever, and still get benefit. The benefit is in your devotion, thinking about what you are saying, and your sincerity, not in the number of times you say it.

I AM VERY DEPRESSED REGARDING MY MARRIAGE PROBLEM. I LIKE A GIRL I EVEN TOLD HER AND APPROACH HER FOR MARRIAGE, BUT THE PROBLEM IS HER PARENTS FIXED HER MARRIAGE TO SOMEWHERE ELSE, WE GOT INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOY WHOM HER PARENTS CHOOSES FOR HER IS NOT GOOD, I EVEN TOLD THAT GIRL TO TELL EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT BOY TO UR MOM BUT SHE SCARED AND NOT READY TO TELL ANYTHING, HER FATHER DOESN'T LIKE THAT BOY EVEN A GIRL ALSO BUT SHE SAID YES JUST BCOZ OF HER MOM. WE CONSULT TO A MAULANA AND HE TOLD US THAT HER MOTHER SPELL CASTE ON HER TO TAKE HER IN HER FAVOUR AND SO THAT SHE WULD NOT DENY TO THE BOY WHOM SHE CHOOSES FOR HER.... PLEASE HELP US AND ADVISE US WHAT TO DO.....

I've started a wazifa a few days back but couldn't complete it what should I do now I'm worried like people say that it could pose some side effects if it is left uncompleted !!! An expert opinion please...... It's matter of Islam

Please read the article. Instead of doing wazifa, make dua and trust in Allah. Don't worry about any talk of side effects - this has no basis in Islam so leaving it will not have any bad effects for you.

Is this hadith true ?
" One day a person came to Our Prophet (P.B.U.H) , & asked for a solution for Rizq, & he was recommended to read following zikr 100 times between sunah and farz of fajar prayer ;
"Subhanallah wabihamdehi subhanallah hil azeem astaghfirula"

Isn't wazifa ?
Do we have to read it exact 100 times cause its recommended by our Prophet ?

Wael i have to disagree not all Wazifa a bad,and against the sunnah.
This you know.Iam dont follow the Barelvis or the Deobandis but i have to says the Deobandis are more bad than the Barelvis.As Example,Maududi ,Ashraf Ali Thanvi,Dhelwi.This People were more dangerous than any Sufis.

Read this :
"Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja'altahu sahla wa 'anta taj-alul hazna idha shi'ta sahla"
“O Allaah, there is no ease except what You make easy. And if You wish, You make the difficult easy.” [recorded in Hisnul-Muslim]

Just one more time mam can you answer that question that it is ok if I make a mistake during wazifa?it's just that a lady told me not to speak while reciting the wazifa and I spoke mistakenly I was really scared then I realized Allah's name can only benefit you Allah loves us more than 70 mothers he won't let anything harm us so is it ok if anyone makes mistake during wazifa?we shouldn't be scared right mam?

I don't believe in Wazifa. Where did this concept come from India? The formula potion duas for every stituations? What about duas on plates written in saffron ink, making dua on the water then pouring it on plate and drink from it by making slurping noise. I hope My questions aren't blasphemy.

Ahmed, most people when they say wazifa they mean that you say the dhikr a certain number of times, and you automatically get what you want. It doesn't work that way. Furthermore, they invent wazaif such as if you say this thing this many times you will get married, or whatever.

I agree very much. The kind of satisfaction that just zikr brings to ur heart cannot b matched wd the urgency or despondency sometimes wazifa cn bring. As ppl tend to emphasize that its all about aqeedah if that is correct, ur wazeefa wil work. I think if wazeefa or anything is as powerful and real as the knife itself, i dont actually hv to believe that the knife wil cut bcz i believe in it. The knife will cut bcz it has that physical power. So similarly, for me i dont think that my recitation n belief will bring power or materiaization of anything, but the power lies wd God. He does wat He will. Ive asked for the wrong things n He made it happen n then i hv prayed for the right things, but they havent. I feel more easy to surrender to His will. I mostly fear that lest my wish puts me in a test of Allah, i wud rather prefer His choice for me. May Allah bring our hearts in harmony wd His will, ameen

Is it true that reciting yaseen in the morning will save you from all evils and also reciting 'hasbi Allah hu la ilaha illahu alaihi tawakkaltu wa hua rabbul arshil azeem' 7 times in the morning and evening will relieve you from all the troubles and reciting surah mulk before sleeping will help you in grave. Kindly help. Thanks

I too was tempted to do wazifa fir my children but my heart said no somehow cos when it said we need permission to start it from this maulana l though really!!!why do we need permissions from someone down on earth n the one high above who will grant our desire wont?? Allhumdulliah l was listening to my head not my heart it dint make sense so l dint.

I am born Hindu but apparently have accepted Islam. my born name is Heena . i love a muslim guy with whom i want to marry to but his parents have to say I wont follow Islam. we are trying to convince them. in between this I came across one website in google for Wazifa for marriage. so i thought of asking as i didnt knew anything about it. first Istikhara was done for us it was positive. but then maulanaji had to say kisine ladke pe kuch kiya hai. so we need to break that. i was charged for this. then when this was over i had good as well as bad dreams. later he said mere pe shirk bana hua hai jo mere hi wajah se bana hai. yani mere khud ke galat kaam ke wajah se jo maine kabhi kiya ho. now i think i m being fooled around. please suggest agar mai yeh adhe mai chod du toh kuch problem hai. as jab maine maulanaji ko bola toh he satarted saying sab bigad jayega barbad ho jayega. mai bahut khabra gayi hu. kya karu ab?????

Sister Heena, congratulations on accepting Islam. Dear sister, there is a lot of misunderstanding among Muslims abotu these concepts of wazifa and istikhra. And there are many charlatans and frauds who take advantage of people's ignorance. Please read the answers already given on this post and our other articles about istikhara (links at the top of the page).

To be brief, there is no such thing as "wazifa" in Islam. Instead we have dua', which is the means that Allah and the Prophet have given us to communicate our needs to Allah and ask whatever we wish. So please make dua' to Allah to bring you a righteous, believing husband who will be a source of comfort and joy to you in this world and the next.

Second, salat-al-istikhara is something personal between you and Allah. You should never pay someone else to do istikhara for you. Anyone who would take money from you is a fraud. Furthermore, istikhara has nothing to do with birthdates, mother's names, or astrology or numerology. It is a dua', a prayer, that you personally make to Allah. In this dua' you mention the choice you are trying to make, and you ask Allah to bring it to you if it is good for you, and to keep it away if it is bad for you, and to make you satisfied with the result.

That's all. It is not necessary to see any signs, or have a dream, or see colors in dreams. After praying istikhara you make the best choice you can and trust that Allah is guiding you in response to your prayer.

Assalamoallaikum, I started a wazifa for marriage but after some days I stopped, you please let me know what to do so that this act of me doesn't affect my life and if it is sinful then please say how to seek for forgiveness of Allah.